With rising prices in almost all products and consumables, it’s now more important than ever to make sure your home can hold in the heat this winter rather than wasting that warm air or allowing in cold air from outside. So if you live in a cold area of the world and are worried about how your home will keep the heat in the coming months, here are three tips for keeping the cold out of your house this winter.
Keep Drafts From Coming Inside
To make sure your home stays warm, one of the first things you should do is make sure you’re able to keep the warm air in and the cold air out.
In many homes, even with the doors and windows closed, cold drafts can come through the house. So if you notice a cold spot in your home, look around to see where that cold air might be coming from. If it’s near an exterior door, you might want to use a draft stopped at the bottom of the door. If you are getting cold air coming in from your fireplace when it’s not in use, try getting a flue stopper that will keep the drafty air from coming inside. Or if you’re noticing that the floor is cold from the ground, try putting some rugs down to help better insulate the floor.
Insulate Your Windows
In some instances, like for those living in an assisted living facility, you might not be able to make any big changes to things like insulation. But if you have the capabilities to, you may want to check your windows to see if they can be better insulated.
If you’re able, you can seal your windows so that cold air is more efficiently blocked out. Or, if all you can do is add something more superficial to your windows, putting up thicker curtains over the windows can help to keep some of the cold from transferring from outside through the windows and into the house.
Use Additional Heat Sources
Sometimes, despite what you’re doing to keep the cold air out of your home, you might find that some areas of your house simply don’t get as warm as you’d like them to.
Rather than turning your entire heating system up higher to combat this, you should look into additional heating sources that you can use just for the area you’re in. For example, if your bedroom is cool but the rest of your house is fine, getting a space heater might do the trick. Or if you’ve noticed that your bed is freezing when you get in at night, getting an electric blanket could be the solution.
If you’re bracing yourself for a cold winter this season, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you keep that cold air out of your house.